What is Dementia?
The term dementia is derived from the Latin word 'Demens'.
Dementia is used as a general term to group neurological conditions that cause cognitive functions to decline - such as thinking, remembering and reasoning. Dementia is not necessarily a part of the normal aging process but is more common as people age.
There are over 100 types of dementia, it is a brain disease that damages nerve cells and brain tissue. Damage to different areas of the brain will result in different symptoms.
For example, damage to frontal lobes could affect personality, problem-solving and emotional expression.
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There is no single test for dementia, a diagnosis is based on individual medical history, physical examination and laboratory testing. It is often difficult to accurately pin-point the exact type of dementia some one may have.​​
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915), who first described the disease in 1906.
The most common dementia diagnosis among older adults. It is caused by changes in the brain, including abnormal buildups of proteins known as amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
Vascular dementia
A form of dementia caused by conditions that damage blood vessels in the brain or interrupt the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
Lewy
bodies
Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a disease associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain whose changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood.
Frontotemporal dementia
A rare form of dementia that tends to occur in people younger than 60. It is associated with abnormal amounts or forms of the proteins tau and TDP-43